Share holiday greetings with seniors through my office's Holiday Card Drive! This year, my office will be collecting cards to share with local senior facilities in IL-06. Mail or drop off your cards by Monday, December 1 to 200 W 22nd St, Suite 229, Lombard, IL 60148.

NEWS: I led 27 House Democrats in opposing President Trump’s pardon of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, who was convicted of violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws. Read more: casten.house.gov/media/press-...

If a foreigner invaded a school while children were present we'd rightly call them a terrorist. If a foreign leader did it we'd prosecute them for war crimes. The fact that Americans are doing this doesnt change the moral calculus. This is sickening. 19thnews.org/2025/11/chil...

If your office is on the south side of the Capitol complex you can ignore the following: If Lucy is holding a football, don’t try to kick it. She’s not to be trusted. Thanks.

I can't believe we had to go to the Supreme Court to learn that tariffs are inflationary. Most of us learned this watching Ferris Bueller and didn't have to spend a bunch of taxpayer money or cripple American businesses just to get through the Voodoo economics scene

The Emperor has no clothes. The first high profile congressional R to recognize that and stand up to him will be branded as brave and courageous. They won't be - they'll just be blowing in the political wind. But that option now exists.

Very good piece from @normornstein.bsky.social on how Dem Senators can use last night's success to preserve the ACA extensions and get the govt open - or make Senate Rs own the consequences. contrarian.substack.com/p/democrats-...

This reminds me of the joke Senator Bingaman told me in 2007: Q "How much does it cost to buy an Alabama utility regulator?" A "I dont know. Southern isn't selling." insideclimatenews.org/news/0311202...

Any discussion of the filibuster has to be understood first in the fact that it exists inside a body - the Senate - which was designed by our founders NOT to represent the will of the American people. The filibuster makes the Senate even less representative. (1/x)

Today, lots of pundits will write that last night confirms their priors. Ignore them all. The truth is that Americans are fundamentally good and when they vote, good candidates, who represent their values win. That's the basic bet of democracy and last night proved it

What we know, final edition of the night: [Now in 3 parts] —Prop 50 wins —VA Dems flip Gov, LG, AG —Dems gain leg seats in VA, NJ, & MS —Dems defend NJ-Gov —Dems win NJ+VA trifectas —Mamdani wins —PA Dems win state supreme court —ME anti-mail voting measure loses —GA Dems flip 2 statewide offices

This is looking like a very good night for lower-case d democracy, the constitution and the virtue of the American people.

Huge deal! Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system

Me, on.what we should do when we win the majority back: "Congress has the power of the purse... If you have the strength, and a bully comes up and kicks you in the shins — you punch him in the goddamn mouth.” www.semafor.com/article/11/0...

Indeed. Support for No Kings is broad, and across nearly all demographic groups, is much higher than support for MAGA. Independents are 3x more likely to identify with No Kings than MAGA. #NoKings

This is fascinating, for a whole lot of reasons. And a good reminder that - notwithstanding what you might hear elsewhere - most Americans are good people who think our Constitutional democracy is worth defending.

The White House's push for data centers to build their own power plants is an almost perfect distillation of their preference for wealth inequality and historical / technical ignorance. Brief thread: www.eenews.net/articles/tru...

For context, this is where Nixon was when he fired Haldeman, Erlichman and Dean in the wake of Watergate revelations.

This is neat and overdue. If you've not had the chance to visit all the old (predominately African American) cemeteries on the South Side you should. They are a history of the Great Migration. chicago.suntimes.com/black-histor...

"Appalachian Power... is proposing more than a 20% reduction in electricity costs... The reason... is a combination of lower fuel costs and greater adoption of renewable energy". Clean energy = cheap energy, because if you don't burn fuel, you don't pay for fuel. cardinalnews.org/2025/11/03/l...

OK, this is objectively really funny. DC Republican men who have decided en masse to abandon all principles and do whatever Trump tells them to are - shockingly! - not as masculine as they cosplay to be. www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...

"If this was a trade war, China won." paulkrugman.substack.com/p/were-numbe...

Congrats to everyone who put Republicans in charge "for the economy," the first three quarters of 2025 already had more layoffs than any of the years in which Biden or Obama was President except 2009 (when Dems were still cleaning up the prior Republican mess). www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This is the spokesman they chose to argue that Congress is out of session because of something other than a pedophile protection racket.

NEXT WEEK: My office is hosting a Military Service Academy Information Fair. For more information and to register, visit: casten.house.gov/services/mil...

Respect.

There’s a lot to unpack here. But when 2/3rds of the country identifies as Christian and almost 90% of the Congress is Christian it takes some chutzpah to say that you’re the victim of anti-Christian bigotry. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Several years ago, a local sheriff said to me that "people don't call the police when there is a crime. They call the police when they don't know who else to call". Anyway, Nancy Mace needs the kind of help police can't provide. www.wired.com/story/nancy-...

This is who Mike "if you want to know what I believe, just read the Bible" Johnson is choosing to starve in his home district of #LA04. www.fns.usda.gov/data-researc...

The first step in the 12 step program is admitting you have a problem. I just wish she was at the point of making amends to the millions of Americans she has harmed by her actions.

It's heartbreaking that this is necessary. But keep in mind that Mike Johnson was the Dean a law school named after child rapist Paul Pressler. He owes his current job to Matt "I didn't know she was 17" Gaetz. He has always protected predators over victims. jimacosta.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

If your favorite sports journalist wrote an article today that said "here's what the Yankees need to do to beat the Dodgers tonight" you'd ask them why they are writing about today as if it's still November 2024. Keep that in mind as you read most current political punditry.

Well this looks cool. Sadly, I am not able to attend. But Mary was the DJ at my first election party in 2018, so I can confirm she knows how to keep the party moving.

The Congressional App Challenge is an opportunity for middle and high school students to practice and showcase their coding skills. Today is the deadline to register. Learn more: casten.house.gov/congressiona...

Reupping this in light of OH redistricting news. As the Wu-Tang Clan says: Marcy Kaptur ain't nothing to F with. youtu.be/B3P73uHFKTk?...

Time for a nerd thread on monetary policy in light of the Feds rate cut yesterday. TL;DR: we are in unchartered waters here on account of Trump's tariff policies and general weakening of the US economy that @GOP policies will make worse. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

Me on the CZ pardon, and how the Trump - and Witkoff - families are using crypto as a straight grift to buy influence with the US government. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

For the first time in American history, SNAP funding will lapse on November 1. Nearly 2 million Illinoisans will have their food assistance benefits ripped away. This number includes veterans, children, and families. President Trump is choosing to let Americans starve.

For all of my adult life, the Mayor of NYC has been heralded as the next big political thing. Giuliani, Bloomberg, etc. And their political career has always peaked in NYC. Maybe Mamdani will be different. But we always over-estimate the national relevance of NYC mayors.

Earlier this month, I joined a discussion about flood mitigation with Lyons Township and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Cheap energy is clean energy. That’s why I’ve worked with my friend Sean Casten to develop the Cheap Energy Agenda and finally bring relief to working families burdened by high energy costs.

Someone once joked that Calvin Coolidge aspired to be the *least* president the country had ever had, doing as little as humanly possible. Mike Johnson has already become the least speaker we’ve ever had.

Don’t praise Mike Johnson for knowing what the 22nd amendment says. That is too low a bar. Demand that he also come up to speed on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th & 14th amendments. And the emoluments clauses. And defend the WHOLE constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

There is nothing surprising about the fact that a 34-time convicted felon appreciated that unique ability of crypto to make crime pay earlier than most. Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership may not give a damn about the grift in the WH but I sure as hell do. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Not using contingency funds to keep SNAP going is a policy choice. President Trump has decided to take food assistance away from 42 million Americans. southwestregionalpublishing.com/2025/10/26/c...

This is very good.

Mike Johnson describes Trump’s mental decline and unhinged behavior.

The American people do not have confidence in the Roberts Court. Only 21% say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the Court; 79% say they have "very little" or only "some" confidence. (Economist/YouGov, n=1623) d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/ec...

Minor quibble with the word "appeared" but this is otherwise an accurate description of a thing that happened yesterday. If one of your loved ones did this you would be having hard conversations about giving another family member power of attorney over their bank accounts.

Over 1,900,000 Illinoisans benefit from SNAP benefits. I joined 212 House Democrats in demanding USDA use contingency reserve dollars to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown. Read more: hayes.house.gov/_cache/files...